Determining card power
So. You want to know how to figure out if cards are good. Here's how. 1. Comparisons The most crucial thing to learn about card power is that it is entirely relative; The power of a card is based on the power of other cards. What this means is that, in order to determine card power, we need to compare cards to other cards. We'll be doing this with the card AsrielMemer. There are three forms of comparisons for every card: Strictly Better/Worse, Situationally Better/Worse, and Non-comparable. We'll be going over all three today. Strictly Better/Worse In normal playing scenarios, if a card is better than another card, that card is strictly better. For example, Let's compare AsrielMemer to 2Hex. AsrielMemer is strictly better than 2Hex. AsrielMemer has better stats than 2Hex, but costs only 1 white more. This both makes him a better icon generator and a better aggro card. It should be noted that strictly better cares about cards being better in normal playing scenarios. '''There are scenarios where SnyFort is better than FuryBlocks (If your opponent is playing ProjectSlayer, for example), but we are concerned with just standard, normal playing scenarios. Slightly Better/Worse '''These cards are roughly even in power and circumstance is more important in determining which one is better. For example, let's compare AsrielMemer to Skullsten. AsrielMemer is slightly better than Skullsten. Whilst Skullsten has better stats, AsrielMemer replaces itself, meaning you gain card advantage, as well as being able to find cards you need faster should you be losing. Because of this, there are a number of circumstances where AsrielMemer is better than Skullsten, and a number of circumstances where Skullsten is better than AsrielMemer. AsrielMemer is better than Skullsten if: * Your opponent is playing large threats. * Your opponent is playing stat-swap effects, such as Yoshius or Awful Good. * You need to draw specific cards, such as Thunder Bolt. Skullsten is better than AsrielMemer if: * Your opponent is swarming the board. * Your opponent is playing direct fighter damage effects. * You need a fighter to stay around and generate icons. Non-comparable Some cards have entirely different purposes, making them not comparable. For this example, let's compare AsrielMemer to Korblox Archmage. AsrielMemer and Korblox Archmage are not comparable. First off, ask yourself the purpose of these two cards. AsrielMemer is an aggro/midrange card, designed to generate you icons early game and ram into the opponent on the cheap. Korblox Archmage is a midrange card. It can be used to hit hard on the opponent during the late-game. Because of this, AsrielMemer and Korblox Archmage will infrequently see play in the same deck. This makes them noncomparable. Which one is the better card is 100% based on circumstance, and unlike AsrielMemer and Skullsten, you would rarely run both. To solve the problem of noncomparables, you would have to add a rider to your question. If you were to ask yourself which card was better in a blue aggro deck, it would be AsrielMemer. If you were to ask yourself which card was better in a blue Korblox deck, '''it would be Korblox Archmage. '''Just because AsrielMemer and Korblox Archmage are noncomparable, does not mean they are of equal power levels. It just means that their power levels relative to each other can't be interpreted. 2. Factors of Power Whilst comparing cards is all good and dandy, what are the traits that make cards better? Here are traits of cards that make them strong: * Lower Cost: 'If a card does the same thing as another card for less, it's strictly better. * '''More Health/Power: '''If it hits harder, it's usually better. * '''Card Advantage: '"Draw a card" is the best effect in the game. Cards that add cards to hand, cards that take multiple hits to kill, etc, all contribute to card advantage. * '''Utility: '''If a card can do many different things and is applicable in many different situations, it can be considered good. * '''Buildaround: '''Buildaround cards, such as Xlzeck, get much stronger if you base your entire deck on exploiting them, or "build around" them. Buildaround cards are almost always found at lower rarities and are usually completely useless at legendary and epic.The vast majority of archetype cards are buildaround. * '''Weakness Subversion: '''Cards that allow decks and colours to subvert weaknesses, such as Split Ego, are extremely powerful. Very few of these cards exist without being nerfed. * '''Resilience: '''Some cards have special effects which make them harder to be removed. 1337 is the grand daddy of this type of effect. Cards that are easy to remove are usually weaker. * '''Demands Removal: '''Cards such as The Stalker must be dealt with by using a removal spell. If you don't, you risk losing major amounts of card advantage. 3. Baselines There are over 1000 cards in the game. Comparing every card to every other card would take forever. Luckily, this is what baselines are for. '''Baselines are cards that are exceptionally good at a specific task. They are very good to compare other cards to, and save time. Whilst baselines do exist, they are plentiful. I'll let other people list them. 4. Examples So. You've seen what to compare cards to. Let's see if you can figure out how these cards relate. Are these cards strictly better/worse, slightly better/worse, or noncomparable? 1a) In a blue aggro deck, is the comparison of Furyblocks to RiceStorage Strict, Slight, or non-comparable? 1b) Is FuryBlocks better or worse than RiceStorage? . . 2a) In a red control deck, is the comparison of AntiSammeh to DIY: Biggerhead Strict, Slight, or Noncomparable? 2b) Is AntiSammeh better or worse than DIY: Biggerhead? 3a) In a yellow swarm deck, is the comparison of Loogi to TheGamer101 Strict, Slight, or Noncomparable? 3b) Is Loogi better or worse than TheGamer101? TO BE EXPANDED. SORRY THIS IS SHIT SO IM GONNA MAKE MY OWN EDIT OF IT OK SO HERES THE ENTIRE THING IF AN EFFECT IS VERY FUCKING SIMILAR AND THEIR ATTACK HEALTH COST THEN THAT MEANS THEY'RE BASICALLY BOTH GOOD SHIT OK SO LETS TAKE SAPRASMA AND TANKBOMER FOR EXAMPLE BOTH HAVE THE SAME COST ONE OF THEM HAS 1.2K HP AND 200 POWER AND ADDS MLGSPUN TO YOUR HAND THE OTHER HAS 500/500 AND SUMMONS A RANDOM FIGHTER FROM ITS ARCHETYPE USUALLY TANK IS SHIT ALONE UNLESS YOU HAVE SOME EXTRA CARDS SAPRASAM IS AMAZING ALONE AND WITH A FEW CARDS BECAUSE MOST OF HIS CARDS ARE POWER LOWERING WEAPONS THERE YOU FUCKING GO THIS 'ICON' SYSTEM IS A MASSIVE MESS AND I'M SURPRISED ANYONE'S MANAGED TO MAKE HEADS OR TAILS OUT OF IT. I GUESS THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU'VE BEEN PLAYING THE GAME FOR THREE YEARS, BUT STILL, WHAT'S CARD BALANCING? WHAT ARE CARD CONCEPTS? WHAT IS MY LIFE!? Category:About The Game Category:Guides Category:Deckbuilding